Let Me Introduce You

Friends, please welcome Guest Writer, Martha Wilson to the blog today. Martha is all too familiar with walking the grief journey as she experienced the loss of her husband, Jimmy at the young age of 28. I believe you will be inspired and encouraged by Martha’s story.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Cor. 1:3-4 NIV

These words in my daily Bible reading struck me as beautiful and powerful. God Himself would comfort me with His comfort so that I might comfort others with that same comfort.  These were words that should be scripted in beautiful calligraphy. But I must admit that my 28-year-old self didn’t have experience or need for this promised comfort. Little did I know I would desperately need these words just a few weeks later.

On that beautiful March Day, my husband Jimmy stepped into an empty elevator shaft that plummeted him 40 feet below. His one step placed him into his eternity in the arms of Jesus, but it shattered my and my boy’s world into millions of pieces. Our world was anything but beautiful.

Many of you know the feeling. You, too, have experienced the shock and devastation of sudden loss or slow release.

The doctor struggled out the words as if they clung to the roof of his mouth. “I have done everything that I can, but without success.” Reality slapped me like a storm-driven wave, knocking the breath from my lungs.

“No way!” We were young with two young boys. We were enjoying our new home. We were going to Disney in the summer. We were serving God!

The unwanted and uninvited strangers named Death, Loss, Shock, and Grief entered the sterile hospital room that day. I had never met them, but nothing I could do would cause them to leave. They hung around in the dark cloud, looming over every detail of my life.

But I must tell you, I met someone new that day. God of Comfort quietly slipped into my sacred space. He wrapped His arms around me so snuggly that I turned my head to see who had snuck in the back door.

He, God Himself, stood behind me as a mighty fortress, holding and comforting me unlike anything I had ever experienced. This God of comfort was no longer words on a page but a true treasure found in this darkness.

As I slowly unclenched my fist and let all the questions subside in the coming months, I came to know and trust this seeming stranger as a beautiful new friend.  He was no longer just my Savior and Friend; now, I knew Him as my Comforter. Thirty-eight years later, I can tell you He is the best companion in all of life. 

May I introduce you to the God of Comfort?

He shows up in the most unsuspecting ways and gives you everything you need. Whenever you are privileged to share hope, encouragement, and comfort with another suffering one, it makes it all worth it.

If you receive His comfort, you will have a treasure to give away!

Martha Wilson is a writer, speaker, blogger and co-host of A Burst of Hope weekly podcast. She is the founder and director of Touching Hearts Ministries for women. She has led women to pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus for most of her adult life. She is bold, tender, and transparent as she teaches women to embrace powerful Biblical truths. Martha and her husband, Ed, live in Fayetteville, Georgia, and enjoy their blended family of five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. You can connect with Martha at: Facebook and Instagram @TouchingHeartsMinistries or listen to theA Burst of HopePodcast.